Basket.



N0. 664,654. PatentedDec. 25, 1900. w. T. & .1.v LANE.

BASKET.

{Application filed May 24, 1900.) N 0 M o d a l ATTORN EY m: NORRIS l s1zns co. Pnmoumo" WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM TIMOTHY LANE AND JOHN IRVING LANE, OF PORT CHESTER, NEW YORK.

BASKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 664,654, dated December 25, 1900.

Application filed May 24, 1900. Serial No. 17,900. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM TIMOTHY LANE and JOHN IRVING LANE, citizens of the United States,residing at Port Chester,county of Westchester, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Baskets, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to baskets of the type consisting of a frame over which is applied a flexible covering of canvas or other suitable material. Baskets of this type have heretofore been made with a supporting-frame located either on the inside or the outside of the basket and carried to the bottom of the basket. In practice such construction has been found to be objectionable, owing to the fact that when a loaded basket is thrown downas, for instance, from a mans shoulder to the earth-the blow of impact is taken upon the bottom of the frame, with the result that the frame is either bent or broken, and, further, the bottom portion of the frame will rapidly wear through the flexible covering forming the bottom of the basket.

Our present invention and improvement consists, essentially, in providing a basket with a soft, flexible, and collapsible bottom, and this is accomplished by carrying the flexible covering which forms the sides and the bottom of the basket below the bottom of the frame. With such construction the blow of impact is borne by the flexible covering and the substance, within the basket, with the result that they in a measure yield to the blow and no injury is done to the basket as a whole.

The accompanying drawings will serve to illustrate our invention and in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

Figure l is a View in perspective with a portion of the flexible covering at the bottom of the basket cut away to show the supportingframe. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the basket, the dotted lines below the figure indicating the extension of the basket when the basket is loaded.

In the drawings, A represents the frame, made of metal or other suitable material, and which in the present case consists of the circular top portion A, the rectangular side poitions A", and the bottom braces A In the special construction of frame shown two bottom braces may be used, as indicated in the full lines, for large baskets, or a single bottom brace may be employed, as indicated in dotted lines, with smaller baskets or those designed to carry a smaller load.

We do not wish to limit ourselves in any wise to the particular type of frame to be employed, as many changes may be made from that shown in the drawings.

B indicates the covering, which may be of canvas or any other suitable material. The

covering B is carried below the frame A and below the bottom braces A and forms what may be termed the flexible or collapsible bottom B of the basket. We prefer that the bottom of the basket B", formed by the coveringB, should be about one-half an inch below the bottom of the frame; but this distance may be increased as desired. In practice we find that when a basket is loaded its bottom will be distended, as shown at B Fig. 2, and this will carry the bottom B of the basket formed by the flexible material considerably below the bottom of the frame. It will be readily understood that when the bottom of the basket is distended downward, as indicated in Fig. 2, by the load within it and the basket is thrown down so as to strike upon its bottom the blow will be resisted by the bottom and the substance within the basket and that no injury will result to the frame.

Having thus described our invention, we claim- I. In a basket, the combination of aframe consisting of an upper portion, side portions depending from the upper portion, means for connecting the side portions together at the bottom, and a flexible covering inclosing the frame and carried as a loose sack without supports for some distance below the bottom portion of the frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a basket, the combination with a supporting-frame comprising a horizontally-disposed upper portion, vertically-disposed side portions and a horizontally-disposed bottom portion, of a covering of-fiexible material for said frame inclosing said frame and carried for some distance below the bottom of the frame, whereby a soft, flexible and collapsible bottom is provided for said basket.

3. In a basket, the combination of aframe consisting of the circular upper portion, the rectangular sides and the transverse bottom braces, of a flexible covering inclosing the circular and rectangular portions of the frame and earned under and at a distance below the bottom portion of the frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. Asa new article of manufacture,a basket provided with a frame arranged to support below the frame so as to produce below the for the basket.

In testimony whereof We alfix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM TIMOTHY LANE. n

JOHN IRVING LANE.

Witnesses:

WM. H. FIELD, D. F. LANE. 

